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Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Ghost houses? 100,000 dwellings reported empty in latest Census
Susan Edmunds NZ Herald (No paywall)More than 100,000 houses were empty in the latest Census – and not just because their normal inhabitants were away. But commentators say only a small portion of them are likely to be true “ghost houses”. In total, the Census recorded 111,666 dwellings that were empty. Another 113,499 had their residents away when the Census was conducted. In 2018, 97,842 were empty. Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said houses could be empty for a number of reasons – including being a holiday home, being under renovation or having been recently constructed and not moved into yet.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ghost-houses-100000-dwellings-repo…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Why Renting is No Longer 2nd Choice for many Americans
John McManus The Builder's Daily (No paywall)As the Federal Reserve’s recent 50-basis point policy rate cut attempts to ease borrowing costs across the economy, the U.S. housing market remains in a complex state of flux. Elevated mortgage rates continue to deter many would-be homebuyers, while the cost of homeownership rises alongside inflation and increasing land prices. Yet, a critical demographic trend is emerging—many Americans are rethinking the value of owning a home altogether.
https://www.thebuildersdaily.com/why-renting-is-no-longer-2nd-ch…
# Hot topic International, Rent.As parts of Florida went dark from Helene and Milton, the lights stayed on in this net-zero, storm-proof community
Rachel Ramirez CNN News (No paywall)William Fulford moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to a new waterfront development in Florida in 2023. Nestled between Sarasota Bay and the southwestern part of Tampa Bay, the new home by Bradenton Beach was everything Fulford, a retired custom homebuilder, ever wished for. The developers of the new Hunters Point community, Pearl Homes, billed the property as the first “net-zero” single-family home development in the US, meaning residents produce more energy from solar panels than they need, with the excess energy either being stored or sold back to the grid – in a state where most electricity is generated by burning natural gas, a planet-warming fossil fuel.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/12/climate/hurricane-milton-hele…
# Hot topic International, Disasters.After a hurricane, what are your rights as a renter in Florida?
Rebecca Liebson Tampa Bay Times (No paywall)Widespread flooding in the wake of Hurricane Helene has rendered thousands of homes in Florida unlivable. While many homeowners have started to clean up damage and file insurance claims, for renters the next steps aren’t quite as clear. The state’s landlord-tenant laws don’t mention hurricanes specifically, but there are certain protections that can come in handy for renters affected by natural disasters. Here’s everything you need to know.
https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2024/10/03/after-hurricane-wh…
# Hot topic International, Disasters, Rent, Repairs.Behind the Accidentally Resilient Design of Athens Apartments
Feargus O'Sullivan Bloomberg (No paywall)On first glance, a typical Athens polikatoikia doesn’t necessarily look like the answer to a host of urban issues. Built quickly and on the cheap — mainly from the 1950s to the 1980s — these modernist apartment buildings (pronounced “Pol-i-kat-i-KEE-A”) line street after street in the Greek capital, their repeated concrete facings and endless lines of unfurled balcony awnings giving the city an appearance of remarkable consistency. They may lack the elegance of Athens’ earlier neo-classical housing, but they have helped to create a city that is vibrant, socially integrated and (until recently) affordable, in which most residents’ housing offers broadly good living conditions. It’s probably fair to say, however, that the buildings have managed all this more or less by accident.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-07-15/the-design-hi…
# International, Public and community housing.Affordable housing is vanishing. Are these landlords to blame?
CBC ()Canada lost more than half a million affordable rental units in a decade, and experts say it’s because 'financialized landlords' are turning housing into investments. CBC The National investigates the impact of the growing industry and what it means for renters.
# Hot topic, Video International, Rent.Most Australians agree there should be a cap on rent increases - but there's a catch
April Glover 9 News (No paywall)Most Australians agree rental laws should impose a cap on rent increases for tenants. According to a nine.com.au reader poll, the majority of Aussies would be happy to see a limit on how much a landlord can raise the rent in every state. The survey found 67 per cent of 539 users* want to see a change in the country's rental laws to reflect this. Just 22 per cent of people said they didn't want a limit on how much a landlord can legally increase rent, while 11 per cent said they were unsure. According to the Rental Pain Index, the average rental increase in Australia by July 2024 was 10.29 per cent.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/should-rental-laws-cap-rent-in…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.When can tenants challenge evictions?
ABC (No paywall)How do tenancy tribunals balance the competing needs of tenants and landlords? And why is Victoria - from a tenants' perspective - ahead of the pack? Guests: Tanya Lakic, Lawyer, Peninsula Community Legal Centre; Leo Patterson Ross, CEO, Tenants' Union of NSW.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lawreport/tenants-and-lan…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.